Jazz Recommendations – 2015 Releases

Ten Songs About Real Utopia is the third album from the quartet of saxophonist Daniel Erdmann, drummer Samuel Rohrer, guitarist Frank Möbus and cellist Vincent Courtois, and each successive recording shows the quartet achieving a more profound unison of sound even as they develop their own individual voices within the united front.  The quality most impressive about their recordings is the way they are able to instill a thick, heavy serenity over the entire proceedings even as they infuse the music with heavy doses of dissonance and volatility.  The reason for their success in this regard is the way they are able to exploit the inherent differences in patient, lyrical melodies and the percussive structures they inhabit.  This results in a cocoon-like environment where the melodies radiate a profound beauty from within even as, sometimes, chaos forms all about them.  It’s the kind of thing that keeps the ear riveted in place.

“Song Against Patriotism” is probably Exhibit A of this approach, as the gentle melodic sighs eventually grow into a conflagration of growls, shouts and explosions.  It’s the most extreme example of the push-pull tension of serenity and dissonance on this recording, but that the model holds even under these challenging circumstances nicely puts a bow on it.

More often than not, it’s a pulsing tempo that greets melodic expressions, and there’s always an appealing uncertainty over which of those two elements is the waves and which is the shore.  “No Number Two,” “There Will Be Blood” and “Song for Christoph F.” fall neatly into this category, and where one may remain calm as the others hit the gas pedal, the effect is the still the same.  And when the quartet does take their foot off the gas pedal for a time, like on “Both Sides,” “Porteur de Vie,” “Trouble Interieur” and “Zone of Lost Children”, a thick, cloudy tranquility hangs over the song, even when they flex some muscle.

Just an absolutely gorgeous album, one matched by a sharp intelligence and wit.

Your album personnel:  Daniel Erdmann (tenor sax), Samuel Rohrer (drums), Frank Möbus (guitar) and Vincent Courtois (cello).

Released on Arjuna Music.

Listen to more of the album on the label’s Bandcamp page.

Available at:  Bandcamp | eMusic | Amazon

Something old, something new, and the old given new life in a new set of clothes… that’s what you get with Follow the Stick, the latest from clarinetist Sam Sadigursky.  In Jazz, there’s plenty of talk about the lineage of that genre, and how one sound evolves into the next… swing to be-bop to hard-bop to inside-out to avant-garde and on through post-bop and whatever amorphous genre-blending that is regarded as the predominant form of expression on the jazz landscape of today.  But where Jazz capital-J can be viewed linearly, the fact is that it’s merely a composite of commonly agreed upon characteristics… traits used to define a particular form of expression at any one particular time and place.  If an artist has the vision and the creative inspiration, they can pluck these ingredients from any place on the timeline they choose, and depending on the ratios built into the sonic equations put into play, very modern compositions can sound like Today, but exude the presence and behavior of something from a very young New Orleans-New York City-Chicago jazz age.  On other projects, Sadigursky has displayed a talent for shaping the music of many eras, and it goes a long way to explaining why so many of the tracks on Follow the Stick are dead ringers for the traditional even though they rarely take a look back over the shoulder.

The blues swing of “Fast Money” makes a strong opening statement, but when the group soon after dives right into a melodic passage, it echoes strongly of the indie-rock jazz blend of the modern day.  So, too, when a later expression of swing blues lets a Chris Dingman vibraphone solo veer into post-bop territory, with its wandering gaze and long-view of the melodic development.

Pianist Bobby Avey was an excellent choice for this project, as his own projects have displayed a hyper-reality take on old blues in new, nearly unintelligible expressions of piano language, much in the way new slang sounds muddled and confusing until it becomes absorbed into the mass consciousness of mutually accepted modes of communication… and slowly, suddenly, everyone is on the same page.  On a track like “Do the Dance,” his ability to effortlessly shrug the sense of form from his shoulders before coalescing into a thick blues expression is the kind of behavioral trait that snaps right into place with Sadigursky and trumpeter Jason Palmer‘s take on the traditional.

There’s an excellent mix of up-tempo and contemplative tunes on this recording, and the stark difference between the tones of each category have the added bonus of seriously enhancing the innate qualities of their counterparts.  And speaking to the strengths of this recording, the engaging nature of both the up and deep categories keep things right there in front of the listener, never allowing the up-tempo tracks to leave the listener behind staring at the back of the song’s head or the contemplative pieces from becoming so deeply contemplative that they fall into solitary reveries connecting with no one.  “Austerity Measures” is a traditional sounding piece with a seaside blues ambiance meant for sitting in the shade on a Summer afternoon with a cold drink and watching the waves slowly lap against the shore.  “Looks Can Be Deceiving” is a ballad rich with heartbreak and a saving leap of faith that, one day, everything will be okay again.  “Reach” is a little bit of each as it goes about displaying the underlying power of a murmur before going up in flames.  Each of them are beautiful in their own way, and all three bring it with all kinds of feel.

Drummer Jordan Perlson is the trail guide on this recording. He ushers each song from start to finish in a seemingly straight-forward fashion, while unobtrusively accentuating all the slopes and bumps and detours built into the framework of the compositions and the fallout from the solos.  Attesting to his talent in this role is the lovely tangle of “Life’s Flowering,” a song that bubbles to life at unexpected moments and explodes with sudden blooms and unfolding melodicism.

Further attesting to Sadigursky’s talent at forging a convergence between old and new is his take on “String of Pearls.”  He flips the song on its head, and runs it down in a direction opposite that of Benny Goodman.  Instead of swing, the motion surges, and instead of dance floor cheer, the tone is one of sit back cerebral.  And yet, despite the alternate route taken, Sadigursky keeps the song’s origins out front, undisguised, and doing very little to obstruct the warmth of familiarity.

The album ends with “Math Music,” an affable tune that closes things out much in the same way they began.  But where album opener “Fast Money” set down firm roots in traditional territory, Sadigursky brings down the curtain with a tune that takes its breaths with a cadence more suited to today’s jazz-indie rock environs.

You really need to pick this one up. It’s a whip-smart album that sees the value of fun, and gets the most out of both qualities.

Your album personnel:  Sam Sadigursky (clarinet, bass clarinet), Chris Dingman (vibes, marimba), Bobby Avey (piano), Jordan Perlson (drums, percussion) and guests: Jason Palmer (trumpet) and Ljova (viola).

Released on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records.

Listen to more album tracks on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Jazz from NYC.

Available at: Bandcamp | Amazon

Nothing quite says “we’re back” like a This Is Jazz Today column.  Not for nothing, we’ve got a ton to catch up with.  There are lists sitting around here just begging to get mined for the best albums and posted up on this site.  We’ll get to them all, which means you’ll get ’em all, which means there’s a lot of music for all of us to listen to.

Just a crazy mix of sounds representing today’s column, and any attempt to generalize is a de facto attempt at sounding insane.  Not even gonna bother with a stand-up routine today.  Too much work ahead of us.

Let’s begin…

*** This Week’s Feature Album ***

Orrin Evans – The Evolution of Oneself (Smoke Sessions)

A perfect example of how an artist can deliver a wide-ranging series of expressions while remaining the entire time on a small patch of ground.  This excellent trio set from pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Karriem Riggins hits notes that are straight-ahead, traditional and modern both, while also getting in expressions that take paths through R&B, hip hop, country and pop music territories.  The thing of it all is that there’s no mistaking it coming from the same creative breath.  Evans is one of the top pianists on the scene, and his newest further cements that position.  Of no little importance, I might add, is that this recording breaks from the typical Smoke Sessions Records mold to a certain degree.  This is a good thing.  While Smoke Sessions Records has been a fantastic addition to the jazz label landscape, and pretty much all of their releases thus far have been solid through-and-through, with a few exceptions, there is an abiding homogeneity to those recordings.  Again, not a criticism.  But it’s nice to hear a release that isn’t cut from the same cloth.  The album is bookended by three very cool, very different renditions of the standard “All the Things You Are,” and it really speaks to the album’s personality.  That said, their version of “Wildwood Flower,” with Marvin Sewell sitting in on guitar, is an astonishing re-envisioning of the traditional folk song.  But this album isn’t in short supply of astonishing moments.

Artist site | Listen | Available at:  eMusic – Amazon

*****

*** Also Featured This Week ***

Get the Blessing – Astronautilus (Naim Jazz)

The Get the Blessing quartet is back with a solid follow-up to their breakout 2014 release Lope and Antilope, one of the very best things released that year.  What really jelled for them on their previous recording was the way they were able to dive head-first into each melody in ways they hadn’t previously, while managing to incorporate their talent for thick, delightful grooves that could dance in the small space of the slightest nuance.  Astronautilus sees the quartet leading out again with the grooves, but this time around the melodies thrive within rather than light the path.  It’s an interesting twist to a similar story, and the result is more than a little bit fun.  I’ll be posting a more lengthy write-up later this week, but for now, just dig in.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp | eMusic | Amazon

*****

John Ellis & Double-Wide – Charm (Self-Produced)

All kinds of soul radiating from the newest from tenor saxophonist Ellis, and it’s just a question of whether the next expression will be thick with the blues or hopping around like it’s halfway through the night and it’s time to kick the celebration up another gear.  For this session, Ellis pulls together a very strong quintet of trombonist Alan Ferber, organist/pianist Gary Versace, drummer Jason Marsalis and Matt Perrine on sousaphone.  Sometimes the easy swaying music speaks to a New Orleans seaside patio and sometimes it echoes the warmth & groove of late-night NYC nightclubs, but no matter the geographical imagery the music elicits, this is an album that makes its mark in its motion and the way that motion lets all the soulfulness come pouring on out.  So good.

Artist site | Listen | Available at:  Bandcamp – eMusic – Amazon

*****

Vula Viel – Good is Good (Self-Produced)

The most striking aspect of this ridiculously fun album is how some of the tracks, based on funereal music, still jump into the air with a joyful euphoria… a characteristic not unlike some traditional New Orleans jazz.  Led by Bex Burch and her gyil (a Dagaare xylophone made of sacred lliga wood), this septet comprised of all-stars from the UK scene sets a foundation of Dagaare folk music, which they weave jazz, pop and electronica elements into through and through.  Saxophonist George Crowley, keyboardist Dan Nicholls and vibraphonist Jim Hart have made repeat appearances in this column, and their presence on this recording is a good sign.  Melodies are catchy as hell, but it’s the way they bounce up, down and all around on the surface of the rhythms that is most likely to delight.  Cool stuff.

Artist site | Listen | Available at:  Bandcamp – Amazon

*****

Mary Halvorson – Meltframe (Firehouse 12)

There’s an argument to be made that guitarist Mary Halvorson is the most divisive musician in jazz today.  Listeners of her music fall into one of two groups.  There’s those who hear her music and believe her to be a genius before her time and those who hear her music and immediately recoil and demand that somebody, anybody turn it off.  And then there’s the second group, the sane group, that when they hear her music, they just don’t know what to make of it.  I count myself as a member of that second group.  Well, most of the time anyway.  Her album Illusionary Sea received a slot on this site’s Best of 2013 list, and that was well earned, but that qualifies more as the exception than the rule when it comes to my ears.  Her newest is a solo guitar project originally intended to give her unique take on jazz standards, but instead evolved into renditions of compositions of a (relatively) more recent vintage.  So, among the composer credits, you’ll see names like Chris Lightcap, Tomas Fujiwara, and Roscoe Mitchell alongside more typical influences such as McCoy Tyner and Duke Ellington.  What does it sound like?  Well, it sounds like a Halvorson recording.  There’s strangely captivating passages of unsteady tranquility, there’s the grind and crunch of electric overdrive, there’s the tongue-tied fretboard runs of the cerebral puzzle challenges, and I dare you to tell me that any of it makes any sense to you.  I haven’t even decided if I like this recording, but, like so many of Halvorson’s recordings, there’s the undeniable truth that it makes me feel plenty, and any time an artist is able to generate such a sincere, immediate reaction, that’s a quality that should never be undervalued.  So, as long as Halvorson keeps doing that to me, I’ll keep mentioning her new albums in these columns, no matter how incomprehensible I may find the recording at the time.

I embedded the Chris Lightcap composition “Platform,” originally on his excellent album Deluxe.

Artist site | Listen | Available at:  Bandcamp – eMusic – Amazon

*****

Ramiro González Quintet – Sonata para el Bebé Colibrí (Self-Produced)

This one emanates a real strength from within, even as it sometimes delivers the music with a casual touch.  Saxophonist Ramiro González touches upon Coltrane’s mid-period Impulse Records sound, where form and structure coexisted peacefully with formlessness and flirtations with chaos.  It’s why much of this recording remains unmistakably contemplative in nature even as it throws out one conflagration after the other.  González is one of two saxophonists on the session, and rounds out the quintet with piano, bass and drums.  He also brings his Latin music background into the fray, even while keeping the music in that pocket situated between hard-bop and avant-garde… not unlike the direction Gato Barbieri was taking back in ESP-Disk days.  This venture, too, is a successful one.

Artist site | Listen | Available at:  Bandcamp – eMusic – CDBaby – Amazon

*****

Torbjørn Sletta Jacobsen Kvintett – Biting Tails (Curling Legs)

Really enjoyable Nordic Jazz session from saxophonist Jacobsen’s quintet.  Strong emphasis on the lyricism with which well-crafted melodies are expressed, allowing conversational tempos to snap right into place.

I recently gave this a much more thorough write-up, so follow THIS LINK to read more.

Artist site | Listen | Available at:  eMusic – Amazon

*****

Grey Wing Trio – Amoroso (Jazzhead)

This one is just swimming in serenity.  A trio of pianist Luke Sweeting, trumpeter Ken Allars and drummer Finn Ryan have a tone and temperament for drifting peacefully from first note to last.  Even where the trio applies just a little bit of extra pressure on the gas pedal, as they inevitably do on each track, it barely creates a ripple in the prevailing tranquility.  This is jazz from Australia, but it’ll appeal to many of you Nordic Jazz fans, especially those who would be happy if Mathias Eick put out a new album every month… that’s the kind of sound you’ll find here.

Artist site | Listen | Available at:  Bandcamp – eMusic – Amazon

*****

Fred Hersch – Solo (Palmetto)

This solo set from veteran pianist Hersch features renditions from a lot of familiar names:  Jobim, Monk, Robert Schumann, Jerome Kern and even Joni Mitchell.  But the sense of familiarity that is most striking about this lovely recording is the singular sound developed by Hersch over a lifetime of playing.  This album is unlikely to fool anyone versed in his music on a blindfold test, which, for a Fred Hersch recording, is a pretty good reason to gravitate to it.  Need something to fill the air with sound on a sublime Sunday morning?  Go scoop this one up.

Artist site | Available at:  eMusic – Amazon

*****

Jacob Garchik – Ye Olde (Self-Produced)

A new album, a new theme for trombonist Jacob Garchik.  Following up on his excellent solo trombone recording The Heavens: The Atheist Gospel Trombone Album (which received a slot on this site’s Best of 2012 list), Garchik brings in three guitarists (Brandon Seabrook, Mary Halvorson, Jonathan Goldberger) and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza to fulfill his vision of a band of wanderers exploring a strange alternate-universe New York City.

I recently gave this a much more thorough write-up, so follow THIS LINK to read more.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

*****

Matteo Bortone – Time Images (Auand)

Quirky album from bassist Bortone, who presents something of a collage where sharp angles, massive clutter and well-timed melodic jabs all cohabit the same space.  Of interest, however, is when the clash of those elements create disturbances in the fabric of the music, and the resulting tension formed as the ear waits to see how it all shakes out.  Joining Bortone on this recording are multi-reedist Antonin-Trio Hoang, drummer Ariel Tessier, and guitarist Francesco Diodati, whose name pops up in the column a couple times a year every year.

Artist site | Available at:  eMusic – Amazon

*****

Have a great time digging through the list!

And remember, it’s simple:  You like what you like.

Cheers.

***

The last time this site featured one of Jacob Garchik’s visions, it was a gospel work of potent harmonies and melodies as endless at the prettiest sunset.  The theme of The Heavens was a solo trombone sermon on Garchik’s love of religious music, gospel especially, and his view of science and religion as it exists in our universe.  On his new release Ye Olde, it’s a different sound and different building blocks and a different theme, but the vision he projects rings with the same clarity and sharpness.  Joining up with Garchik’s trombone are three different guitarists, a drummer, and an unlimited supply of gasoline.  A perusal of the song titles gives evidence of Garchik’s theme of heroes wandering an imaginary New York City whose renaissance took the shape and form of a foreboding Gothic landscape.  And from the brutish architecture that defines these compositions, it’s obvious that the entire crew pushes all-in on Garchik’s vision.

The album’s opening tracks (“The Sinister Scheme Of Mortise Mansard,” “The Sinister Scheme Of Mortise Mansard,” “The Lady of Duck Island” and “The Elders of Ocean Pathway”) all possess a heavy presence and exhibit zero inhibition to throw their weight around.  Of those four tracks, the first leads out with a shout-to-the-sky melody above a hard-charging rhythm, the second patiently throws one haymaker after the other, the third weaves together different threads into a focused stream of force, and the fourth of that batch brings the heat and an ample number of ways to set the whole damn place on fire.

“The Opossum King Of Greenwood Forest” signals a new stage of the album development with a sharp groove that cuts through some appealingly rough edges.  Subsequent track “Post-Modern Revival” builds on that foundation, but shifts into a pulsing tempo that allows for Garchik to skip melodic fragments like stones over choppy water.  And “The Battle Of Brownstone Bulge” is a hulking leviathan that sometimes wavers in and out of focus, betraying a lightness that contrasts beautifully with its massive presence.  Not dissimilar is “Refuge In The Ruins Of Castle Martense” in a stripped down sort of way.

Garchik and crew put the finishing touches on his vision with “The Throne Room Of Queen Anne,” a song that celebrates the album’s raucous nature and raw intensity while imparting the sense of finality with a casual delivery that is positively magnetic… capping an album that matches its intensity and intelligence with a huge dose of fun.

Your album personnel:  Jacob Garchik (trombone, alto horn, tenor horn), Brandon Seabrook (guitar), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Jonathan Goldberger (guitar, baritone guitar) and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums).

The album is Self-Produced.

Music from the (Flatbush) Brooklyn scene.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon